http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews...raises-ire-1.1204618


Rhino hunt tender raises ire
December 27 2011 at 11:15am
By Kamcilla Pillay



“We do this every year. I don’t understand why there is an uproar now. What’s changed?”

This was the reaction of Dr Bandile Mkhize, CEO of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, to concerns raised by an anti-poaching campaigner on the annual invitation to tender for the hunt of a male white rhino.

He defended the hunting of the rhino by explaining that it was necessary to fund the conservation effort.

Simon Bloch, in a letter to the Daily News, had called the invitation “shocking and horrendous”.

In his letter Bloch asked: “What are the reasons for this tender, other than to give some wealthy, thrill-seeking hunter a guaranteed trophy and the life of a critically endangered animal, so that Ezemvelo in turn can give a fat cheque to some tribal community that may or may not even own the animal in the first place?”

He also questioned if the move was politically or financially motivated in the name of “species conservation and bio-diversity”.

“If you feel the bull is no longer safe on your reserves, please keep the tender open a little longer. I might be able to find R751 000 from concerned citizens. That’s R1 000 more than your minimum bid. I promise we won’t hurt him or remove his horn.”

Responding, Mkhize said:

“We are faced with the problem of rhino poaching on the one hand and the problem of raising enough funds so that our conservation efforts can go on, on the other. Life goes on – we have to address both.”

He said that once an area reached carrying capacity, animals had to be removed to prevent them from destroying it.

This was why an average of 30 animals were auctioned and at least two rhino hunts were offered every year at the Mkuze Game Reserve.

He said that part of conservation was empowering communities, so that they understood why certain areas were fenced off and protected.

In the document inviting people to tender, the Mduku community, for which The Makasa Resource Reserve (where the hunt is to take place next year), was described as “an area voluntarily set aside for nature conservation purposes principally for sustainable resource utilisation”. They would benefit from the sale in the form of infrastructure.

The key to involving communities was to address them as equals and recruit traditional leaders and healers who wield power within those communities, he said.

Responding to Mkhize’s reply today, Bloch said he felt Mkhize lacked sensitivity to the issue at hand.

“It is outrageous for a person in his position to say something like that. South Africa has become a killing field for oriental and traditional medicines. It is time conservationists in the country took a stand against this onslaught of our heritage,” he said.

KZN Wildlife, conservationists in spat
2011-12-29 20:06


Durban - Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has accused conservationists of undermining its efforts, after the conservation body came under fire for putting out a tender to hunt a white rhino bull.

"Conservationists are undermining the community and the role played by conservation," Ezemvelo chief executive Bandile Mkhize said on Thursday.

"If conservationists are concerned by what we are doing they must contact us directly and not go to the media."

The Mercury reported that a rhino conservation campaigner was outraged that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife had invited hunters to tender to kill a white rhino bull at the Mkuze game reserve, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, to manage numbers of the animals and fund conservation efforts.

Anti-poaching campaigner Simon Bloch was quoted by the Mercury as saying this justification was pathetic, given that close to 500 rhino had been poached this year.

"We should be doing everything in our power to ensure the survival of the species," Bloch told the paper.

Said Mkhize: "We have been doing this for a very long time, it is part of managing conservation, this is a strategy used to manage wildlife."

He said the benefits from the tender would be used to manage reserves and fund any projects local residents had.

Wildlife conservationist Tony Conway, chair of the KZN Rhino Group, supported Mkhize.

"This is a business arrangement. It's been going on in South Africa since 1994. The country is doing well with rhino conservation, we are allowed to have controlled hunting of white rhinos."

According to the Mercury, Ezemvelo invited the holders of hunting licences to bid to kill the rhino, with a minimum of R750,000 being set. The tender was advertised on the internet for two days only.

The package consisted of an identified white rhino, pictures of which were available on request, and two night's accommodation at a lodge.

Bidding closed on December 23, the paper reported.


- SAPA